The present invention relates generally to sports balls or game balls. In particular, the present invention relates to a sports ball having a cover which is movable with respect to an interior bladder, and a game ball having at least two linings, which are orientated to minimize overlapping of lining material.
Many sports balls and game balls include an inflatable bladder and a cover that surrounds the bladder. Such sports balls include, for example, volleyballs, basketballs, footballs, and soccer balls. Sports balls with inflatable bladders conventionally include a first lining over the bladder for reinforcing the bladder and for maintaining the shape of the bladder. For example, volleyballs have included a cloth lining, which surrounds the bladder. The cloth lining may be formed from a plurality of cloth sheets or panels, which are dipped in a latex adhesive or other adhesive and then applied to the outer surfaces of the inflated bladder. When the adhesive dries, the cloth panels are adhesively secured together and perhaps also adhesively secured to the bladder. The bladder and the lining form the carcass of the volleyball. The cover of the ball is formed from a plurality of panels of leather, synthetic leather, or other cover material which are adhesively secured to the lining. Volleyballs are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,239,568 and 5,542,662.
Basketballs have included a wound liner layer, which is formed by winding thread or filament around the inflated bladder. The thread is conventionally nylon or similar material and may be dipped in latex glue or polyurethane adhesive before being wound over the bladder. Applying a layer of rubber over the wound bladder and molding the resulting structure under heat and pressure conventionally forms the carcass of a basketball. The cover is thereafter applied to the carcass. Basketballs are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,178, 5,681,233, 5,931,752 and 6,024,661.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,568 describes a volleyball in which a layer of lubricant such as talc is interposed between the bladder and a first cloth layer. The lubricant prevents the cloth layer from sticking to the bladder. However, the manufacturing process requires applying the cloth layer to a hollow sphere, which is made from brittle material such as paraffin. The sphere is broken into pieces after the cloth layer is applied. The pieces of paraffin are removed through a slit in the cloth layer, and the bladder is inserted through the slit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,662 describes a modified volleyball, which includes a bladder, and a thin rubber pouch which forms a covering layer over the bladder. The bladder is coated with an inorganic lubricant. The pouch is covered with latex-impregnated cloth and a cover layer.
The prior art volleyballs in which a layer of lubricant covers the bladder can be referred to as floating bladder volleyballs. The floating bladder is not adhered to the cloth layer, and the volleyball has a softer feel than other prior art balls in which both the bladder and the cover were adhesively secured to the cloth layer.
Existing game balls having a lining comprised of a number of sheets adhesively secured to each other are well known, and can include two or more linings wherein each lining is formed from a number of sheets. Such game balls with two or more linings, wherein each lining is formed from a number of overlapping sheets, have drawbacks. Each lining of this type includes a number of overlapped regions wherein portions of two or three separate sheets overlapping each other. Typically, the sheets are applied to the lined surface of the game ball in a manner that is consistent with the arrangement of outer cover panels of the game ball. For example, a conventional volleyball includes eighteen separate cover panels covering the ball. Typically, each lining would also be formed from twelve or eighteen sheets orientated in the approximate position of the cover panels. When two or more such linings are employed in the construction of a game ball, the double and triple overlapped portions of one lining often can be aligned or overlapped with the double and triple overlapped portions of a second lining. These regions of the game ball can response differently than other regions of the ball during manufacturing, particularly during curing, and often can lead to an out of round, misshapened, or otherwise defective appearance, when pressurized. These regions can also create hard spots or dead spots in the ball, which can react differently in use than other regions of the game ball and can result in a ball with an inconsistent and hard feel. These regions can also affect the rotation or the travel of the ball during use.
Thus, there is a need to develop a game ball having two or more linings that does not include regions of overlapped sections of one lining aligned with overlapped sections of a second lining. There is a need for a game ball including two or more linings that has a consistent softer feel. What is needed is a multi-lined game ball that consistently takes a desired shape and performs in a consistent manner during use. It would be advantageous to produce a multi-lined game ball without regions of aligned overlapped lining sections without requiring the implementation of costly and complex manufacturing steps.
The invention provides a volleyball or other sports ball with a floating cover rather than a floating bladder. Since the player feels the cover and not the bladder, better feel and performance is obtained if the cover can float relative to the carcass of the ball. The floating cover improves the dynamics of the ball and produces an even softer feel than a floating bladder.
The bladder is covered with an adhesive-impregnated lining that provides a load-carrying layer for retaining the shape of the bladder. The bladder and the attached cloth layer form the carcass of the ball. A layer of elastomeric material, which is not attached to the carcass, surrounds the carcass. The elastomeric layer and is movable relative to the carcass. A second lining is applied over the layer of elastomeric material. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the second lining is a layer of adhesive-impregnated cloth that facilitates adhesion of the cover to the elastomeric layer.
According to a principal aspect of the invention, a game ball includes an inflatable bladder, a plurality of first and second lining sheets, and a cover. The first lining sheets substantially cover the bladder to form a first lining. At least a portion of one first lining sheet overlaps at least a portion of another first lining sheet to define a first overlapped region. The first lining includes at least one first overlapped region. The second lining sheets substantially surround the first lining to form a second lining. At least a portion of one second lining sheet overlaps at least a portion of another sheet lining sheet to define a second overlapped region. The second lining includes at least one second overlapped region. The second lining is shifted with respect to the first lining to minimize overlapping of the first and second overlapped regions. The cover is coupled to and substantially surrounding the second lining.
According to another preferred aspect of the invention, a volleyball includes an inflatable bladder, a plurality of first and second lining sheets and a cover. The first lining sheets are arranged in a pattern generally resembling a conventional multi-panel volleyball cover and substantially cover the bladder to form a first lining. At least a portion of three first lining sheets overlap each other to form a first triple-layered region. The first lining includes at least one first triple-layered region. The second lining sheets are arranged in a pattern generally resembling the conventional volleyball cover pattern and substantially surround the first lining to form a second lining. At least a portion of three second lining sheets overlap each other to form a second triple-layered region. The second lining includes at least one second triple-layered region. The second lining is shifted with respect to the first lining such that the second triple-layered regions are generally not disposed over the first triple-layered regions. The cover is coupled to and substantially surrounds the second lining.
This invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings described herein below, and wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.